Vibratory therapeutic chair



Feb. 14, 1950 w. WETTLAUFER VIBRATORY THERAPEUTIC CHAIR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1Filed Dec. 12, 1947 \NVENT R William L WQ tLCLQfQ ATTORNEY FIG.

W. L. WETTLAUFER VIBRATORY THERAPEUTIC CHAIR Feb. 14, 1950 2Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 12, 1947 \NVENTQR William LWQ it Icufiq rATTORNEY Patented Feb. 14, 1950 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE VIBRATORYTHERAPEUTIC CHAIR William L. Wettlaufer, Bufialo, N. Y.

Application December 12, 1947, Serial No. 791,250

4 Claims. 1

This invention relates to a therapeutic appliance in the form of a chairhaving adjustable side arms and means for setting one or more portionsof the chair into sustained vibrations which may be transmitted to thebody of the user.

According to the present invention, there is provided a chair having adivided seat, each portion of which carries a back rest and an armsomewhat resiliently connected thereto, and which arm may be adjustedvertically and radial- 1y so that it may be brought against variousportions of the body. Provision is also made to incorporate in eachsection of the chair a vibratory device capable of developing sustainedperiodic vibrations of controllable intensity, and of a character havinga beneficial massaging action. A typical embodiment of the invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawing, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a top plan of the chair;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation;

Fig. 3 is a side elevation with a portion broken away to show thesuspension of the seat;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line 4--4 of Fig. 1, drawn on anenlarged scale and further showing the suspension;

Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary view as seen from the line 5-5 in Fig.1, further showing the resilient connection of the side arm;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is a section taken substantially on the line 1-1 of Fig. 5; and

Fig. 8 is a view of the motor mounting, taken substantially on the line88 of Fig. 7.

Referring initially to Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the chair comprises a framehaving side rails II and front and back rails 12, together with legs l3at the four corners, and which are joined together in any desiredapproved manner to provide a sturdy foundation. This frame provides asupport for two seat sections 1 4 and [5, each of which extends from theback rail to just beyond the front rail where it is provided with adepending apron l6. These sections are slightly spaced from each other,and from the rails, as indicated by the numerals l1 and I8. Each seat isprovided with an upright, rigidly connected back member, l9 and 2|respectively, advantageously formed with a substantially vertical rearpanel 22, tapered side panels 23, and an inclined front panel 24.

These panels are interconnected, and are secured to the seat sections,according to the usual practices of the cabinetmakers art.

Each of the outer side panels 23 is equipped with a vertical tubularpost 25, which is supported by means of upper and lower spacer blocks 26and through bolts 21, as further shown in Fig. 6. Each post constitutesa mounting member for a side arm 3 I, 32, through the medium of abracket plate 33. The side arms are formed as hollow box-like membershaving a generally kidneyshaped contour, with the concave inner surfacesof appreciable height, so that they may be drawn up snugly against afairly large area of the body. The bracket plates 33 are secured byscrews 34 to the outer panels 35 of the arms, and they are provided withelongated collars 36 at their ends to encircle the posts 25.

As shown in Fig. '7, the collar portions 36 fit around the posts 25 forpractically the entire circumference, and each collar is formed with alug 31 of reduced height, disposed substantially parallel to the bracket33, and tapped to receive the threaded end of a thumb screw 38 whichpasses through an aperture drilled in the bracket on its outer surface.The thumb screw may be loosened to adjust the side arm in both radialand vertical directions, and then tightened to retain the arm in place.Accordingly, the arm may be positioned over practically all portions ofthe body between the shoulders and hips, while the patient sitscomfortably in the chair.

Each of the side arms 3! and 32 has mounted within its cavity a vibratorwhose action imparts activating motion to the connected back and seatmembers. As herein shown, the vibrator comprises a small electric motor4| having unbalanced weights 42 attached to the blades 43 of fansmounted on the ends of the motor shaft 44. The motor is mounted in asplit circular strap 45 which grips the casing through rubber pads 46,and the ends of the strap are connected to a plate 41 by screws 48--theplate in turn being secured to the inner face of the bracket 33 byscrews 49. In order to provide for this mounting, the arm panel 35 iscut away to provide a slot 5|. Cooling of the motor is effected bycirculating air, which may flow through a screen 52 positioned in theend portion 53 of the arm.

The motors 4| are energized by current supplied through wires 55 leadingto rheostat switches 56 accessibly mounted on a panel 51 positioned onone of the side rails H. The panel 51 may also support a timer 58, bymeans of which the length of treatment may be automatically controlled.It is highly desirable to provide individual controls for the motors, sothat, bysmall adjustments of the current supplied to each, theirgenerated vibratory impulses may be brought into 'synchronism.Otherwise, unavoidable varia- 3 tions in the mechanical loads on themotors would cause them to generate vibrations so out of phase as to jarthe patient and thus minimize the benefits of the type of massagetreatment for which the invention is designed.

Each bracket 33 is preferably made of sheet steel of such gauge that itadequately supports the arm, but at the same time has some resilience tothe twisting stresses which may be imposed by a user pressing down onthe top of the arm. When the motor is operated, the arm is set intoforced vibrations of like gyratory nature, and these vibrations are alsotransmitted through the bracket 33 to the post 25, and so into the backsections l9 and 2| and the connected seat sections l4 and IS. Thepatient, sitting naturally on the seat and resting on one or both of thearms 3| and 32, may thereby stimulate and internally massage variousportions of the anatomy, depending upon the manner in which theattendant manipulates the switches 56.

In order to prevent undue damping of the vibratory impulses, eachassembly of seat, back, and arm is mounted on the chair frame, inaccordance with the principle set forth in my prior Patents Nos.2,235,183 and 2,235,134 of March 18, 1941. As best shown in Figs. 3 and4, the front and back rails 12 are each provided with inwardlyprojecting ledges 6i, and the edges of the seat sections rest on theseledges through interposed rubber tubes 62 which are retained in grooves63 and 64. Similar soft rubber tubes 65 are positioned on the undersides of the ledges Bi, and they are retained in place under lightcompression by Z angles 66 whose upper flanges are connected to theseats by screws 61.

Each seat portion may therefore vibrate with a Wave motion whosecharacteristics are those of the vibration generated by the dynamicallyunbalanced motors 4 I. Additional comfort to the user is obtained bycovering the seats, backs, and portions of the arms with layers ofsponge rubber 68, and the rubber and additional portions may be coveredwith an upholstering fabric 69.

Physiotherapeutic applications of the chair will be apparent to thoseskilled in the medical arts. Where internal stimulation or massage isindicated, the present invention may be utilized, particularly for thetreatment of the spine, pleural, abdominal, and pelvic regions, and alsoportions of the limbs. The intensity of the action will generally begoverned by the amount of current supplied to the motors ll and thepressure exerted by the patient, while localization of treatment may beobtained by adjustments of the arms.

While the invention has been described with respect to a singleembodiment thereof, it is to be understood that it is susceptible ofvariations and modifications, and accordingly it is intended that itshould be accorded a scope commensurate with that expressed in thefollowing claims.

I claim:

1. A therapeutic massage chair comprising a supporting frame, a seatmember resiliently mounted on the frame, a back rest extending uprightfrom the seat member at one edge thereof, a supporting post mountedalong one side of the back rest, a side arm slidably mounted on the postfor both vertical and radial adjustments, a vibration generator carriedby and adapted to set the seat member, back rest and arm simultaneouslyin sustained vibration, and control means for regulating the intensityof the vibrations.

2. A therapeutic massage chair comprising a supporting frame, a pair ofspaced seat members resiliently mounted on the frame, a back sectionextending upwardly from each seat member, a side arm having a concavecontour on its inner surface connected to said back section and adaptedto be adjustably and. fixedly secured thereto, and a vibration generatormounted within-the arm of each seat member.

3. A therapeutic massage chair comprising supporting frame, a pair ofspaced seat members each resiliently supported and retained on theframe, spaced backs extending upward from each seat member and rigidlyconnected thereto, side arms for each seat member, said side arms beingformed as box-like members having concave contours on the inner surfacesthereof, a bracket plate connected to each side arm at the outer rearsurface thereof, said plate also being ad- .iustably connected to itsadjacent back, and a motor operated vibration generator mounted on saidbracket plate.

4. A therapeutic massage chair comprising a supporting frame, a pair ofspaced seat members each resiliently mounted on said frame, spaced backsrigidly connected to and extending upward from one edge portion of eachseat member, tubular posts rigidly mounted. on the outer side of eachback and slightly spaced therefrom, a. bracket plate having a collarportion encircling each post, a thumb screw for locking the bracket onthe post in an adjusted position, a side arm having a box-like formconnected to the bracket plate, resilient padding on the seat members,backs, and arms, and a motor operated vibration generator mounted withineach arm.

WILLIAM L. WETTLAUFER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

Wettlaufer Mar. 18, 1941

